


Better The Devil You Know

by kethni



Category: Veep (TV)
Genre: F/M, Goodbyes, Light Angst, Mental Health Issues, Minor Character Death, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25917214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kethni/pseuds/kethni
Summary: She turned towards him. ‘How come we never slept together?’He was thoughtful. ‘You hated me.’Selina took a breath, ready to deny it, and then shrugged. ‘I guess. I’ve slept with plenty of men I hated.’‘That sounds healthy,’ he said dryly.
Relationships: Kent Davison/Selina Meyer
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Better The Devil You Know

**Author's Note:**

> For Anonymous who asked for "Selina/kent -- tender moments during the campaign trail when they think no one is watching. Or any light angst."

Better the Devil You Know

She’d never thought he might be guilty. Not even in passing. Sure, sure, men did that kind of shit. Hell, they did that kind of shit a _lot,_ but Selina had known more assholes who abused their partners than she cared to remember. There wasn’t a damn one where she’d been surprised to find out that they knocked about their other half. Not one. Some people, even if you never thought about consciously, you just automatically accepted were violent assholes, or philandering dickwads, or general all-round sleazy fuckers. Some people you just automatically assumed weren’t. Kent was one of those.

It wasn’t that she had thought Kent was some great guy. There was a time when she would’ve stood and cheered if he’d been hit by a train. But there was a massive difference between thinking someone was a cold fish who was out to get you, and thinking they had something to do with the disappearance of their girlfriend.

Besides, how the fuck could you carry on thinking someone was a cold fish when you saw their face when the cops announced they’d found the body? Nobody was that good a liar. Nobody was that good an actor.

She should’ve fired him from the campaign. He wasn’t a household name, true, and he wasn’t making the front pages. But the girlfriend’s disappearance, and then her death, kept popping up. Every time it did, so did his name. He was a distraction. He was sure as shit distracted. But nobody suggested firing him, not even Ben, and she didn’t have to find a reason to explain why the idea was so abhorrent.

Selina was used to seeing Kent in his shirt sleeves. Usually he was as smart as the rest of them, and always smarter than Ben, but there were times, too many times, when everyone had been up for too many hours, with too little sleep, and the rules just sort of… crumbled. Ties were loosened, sleeves were rolled up, high heels were kicked off, and maybe the conversation got just a little less guarded than it should have been. Maybe guarded wasn’t the right word. It wasn’t as simple as the change between personal and professional. Her personal life was open season and so she tended to elide the boundaries for herself and her staff. Yet, there was a difference. Perhaps it wasn’t the topics but the manner. As she walked into the room they were using for an office, he was clearly exhausted, and somehow, that gave her permission to be tired. To be a little less than perfect when perfection was a prerequisite of her career and therefore every facet of her life.

‘Jesus, go to bed,’ Selina said.

If she had been a different woman and said that to Dan, Furlong, or a dozen of those kinds of assholes then they would have made some sleazy comeback. Maybe even Ben, if she were an Asian nurse. But she was herself and Kent was himself and so he said something completely different and entirely his own smartass self.

‘I’m not familiar with that verse of the Bible,’ he muttered.

Selina pushed herself up onto the table. ‘Kent, go to bed.’

‘I’m just going to –’

‘I wanna take off my bra!’

He blinked at her. ‘I beg your pardon?’

She pushed back her hair. ‘I wanna take off my bra and relax. I can’t do that if you’re still working.’

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. ‘Okay,’ he said eventually.

Selina put her hand on her hip. ‘What, you’ve never heard a woman say a bra was uncomfortable?’

‘Frequently, however never a colleague let alone an employer,’ he said, stumbling towards the door.

‘What, not even Sue?’

It was wildly inappropriate. She had no damn business mentioning any partner of his, and sure as hell not Sue. That had never been acknowledged, not even when they were breaking up in the most fucking embarrassing way.

He had his hand on the door, but he paused and looked back at her. She’d never seen that slight smile before. It wasn’t the forced, fake smile she’d seen from him too many times. This was complex, suggesting that the hints of affection and gentle amusement were merely shadows of the deeper emotions that he would never dream of showing her.

‘Sue Wilson would rather die than ever admit such a thing to anyone,’ he said. ‘Least of all her romantic partner.’

‘Well, I hope you’re wrong,’ Selina said. ‘Because that’s fucking _insane_. The guy you’re fucking shouldn’t be the last person you talk about personal shit.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Some assholes would say the guy you’re fucking should be able to see you with no bra, no makeup, just… yourself. I wouldn’t go _that_ far, because I have some damn pride.’

He was thoughtful for a moment. She tried to remember if he ever seemed to give as much thought to her policies or other political comments.

‘My experience with ladies is not very extensive,’ he said. ‘However, I think perhaps that each lady has a different opinion about how much they are comfortable showing themselves to their partner without the aid of makeup, undergarments, or similar.’

Selina snorted. ‘The whole of fucking Western culture tells women that they’re dried up, sagging, and worthless after twenty-five. Is it any fucking surprise that we might not be comfortable barefaced and naked?’

She saw a slight flush rise in his cheeks and then fall.

‘Ma’am, I think I should be going.’

She waved a hand. ‘Sure. Whatever.’

He’d thought about her naked and it made him _blush_. Jesus. He was older than she was. Weren’t men supposed to think about sex every seven seconds? It was a fucking miracle he wasn’t always flashing on and off like a damn traffic light.

He shut the door quietly. Selina waited. She wasn’t sure why. He had no reason to come back but she waited in case he did.

***

Fucking Andrew. She should have been able to wave him goodbye forever when Catherine was eighteen but, somehow, he kept turning up like… _thrush_.

She’d been… not herself. Someone should have known that and stopped Andrew from taking advantage. Of course, it was before she chose to run again so her staff were four fucking racoons and a balloon on a stick, but Catherine had been around, and Marjorie had been around. One of them should’ve done something.

She threw her shoes at the wall. It made her feel better for roughly ten seconds. It was only ten seconds because that was how long it took Kent to open the door. It was surprising, actually. Most of her staff knew by now to stay out of her way when she was… irritable. Surprising that he opened the door at all, more surprising that he didn’t knock, and plain shocking that instead of leaving he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

‘What the fuck?’ she panted. From the corner of her eye she saw herself reflected in the mirror: a well-dressed demon with a howling mouth and black smeared eyes. She looked like the aunt of that chick that got locked in a well.

‘Ben is concerned that you might require medical attention,’ he said. ‘I don’t believe that to be the case. Am I wrong?’

The sheer affrontery of it took her breath away. She stood in the wreck of her room and stared at him.

‘I am allowed to be fucking _angry_. I am allowed to be fucking _outraged_ that my narcissist fucking jerk of an ex-husband has maybe damaged my campaign by stealing money from my charity. How fucking _dare_ you walk in here without a by-your-leave and suggest that my anger, my totally normal understandable, and _appropriate_ anger might mean that I need fucking psychiatric help!’

She expected him to wilt back or scurry away. Men rarely knew how to deal with female anger, they saw it so rarely. They had bent the world to suit themselves so much that women never felt free to be truly angry even when they should.

‘Selina, I’m not the enemy,’ he said. ‘And you seem entirely lucid to me.’

She cocked her head. ‘How about it I throw a lamp at you?’

He pursed his lips. ‘Would it be worth the millions you would have to pay me not to sue you?’

She scowled. ‘I guess not.’ She slumped down onto the couch. ‘Does Ben assume every woman yelling needs a doctor? Because with the amount of divorces he’s had I gotta assume he’s real experienced with women yelling at him.’

‘And quite likely throwing lamps.’ Kent came and sat next to her. ‘Are we going to pretend that you don’t have a history of –’ 

‘I was at a spa,’ she growled.

He sighed. ‘It’s unfortunate that there’s such a stigma around mental ill-health. I’m sure it must make it more difficult to seek help.’

Selina began taking off her make-up. ‘What would you know about it?’

‘Nothing from personal experience,’ he admitted. ‘But I hope that I have no bias about it.’

She shot him a look. ‘What do your polls tell you about a candidate stupid enough to admit they’ve got a screw loose?’

He clasped his hands together. ‘You’ve entirely missed a good portion of mascara on your cheek.’

‘Shit. Gary normally helps.’ She gave him a sheepish look. ‘I can’t see for shit without my contacts and he’s got those. Which asshole gave him the afternoon off?’

Kent’s little half-smile said that he knew _exactly_ which asshole it was but that he had chosen discretion as the better part of valour. ‘I’ll help.’

Selina snorted. ‘You’re gonna help me take off my makeup?’

‘It’s nothing I haven’t done before.’

‘What? That’s weird as fuck.’ But she closed her eyes. She felt the couch move as she turned towards her, heard his breathing as he moved closer, and smelt the slight musk of his skin.

He tipped up her chin with his fingertips and with the other hand swiped makeup remover across her forehead, down her cheeks, and around her mouth. 

‘If a woman ever does need psychiatric help it’s probably because some man fucking gaslit her into thinking she had no right to angry or sad or just plain emotional,’ she muttered.

‘And yet you are one of the angriest people that I’ve ever met,’ he observed.

‘You ever think maybe I’ve got good fucking reason to be angry?’

‘Not really,’ he said.

Her eyes snapped open. ‘Hey!’

Kent looked completely unphased. ‘I need to do your eyes.’

‘Don’t give me some lecture on how fucking entitled I am.’

He shrugged. ‘I won’t. But I _could_. Just as you could lecture me with almost equal cause.’

She shut her eyes again. ‘Almost equal cause,’ she muttered. ‘Maybe I was born well-off but you’re a man.’

‘You’re allowed to be angry,’ he said. His touch was very light and delicate.

‘Oh, thank you for your permission. What’re you, the emotion police?’

He dried her face. ‘You have no right to attempt to cover up your mistakes by blaming them on innocents such as Marjorie or Gary.’

Selina opened her eyes. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she muttered.

‘Why are you trying to deflect blame from Andrew?’ he asked.

‘It’d be reflected back on me,’ she said.

He cocked his head. ‘Not necessarily. We could control the narrative. Casting you as his victim might give you some much needed vulnerability and likeability.’

Selina shifted in her seat and looked away. ‘I’m too old now to start pretending to be vulnerable.’

Kent stood up. ‘Are you too old to admit that Andrew is a parasite who will utterly drain the life from you and then walk away whistling to find a new victim?’

The blood seemed to rush to her face and then leech out just as quick. Heat and cold rushing through her.

‘I can see that I’ve upset you,’ he said. ‘I apologise. That wasn’t my intention. I’ll take my leave, Ma’am.’

‘Yeah, you probably should.’

***

She heard Ben screaming at Kent all the way down the corridor. Well, that was nothing new and it _was_ Kent’s fault that Andrew had been arrested. He was the one who had pushed her to throw him under the bus. It had been fucking awful.

But not as awful as she expected. Catherine had been upset but not upset at _her_. She knew what her father was. Jesus. Nobody should ever have to face knowing that their father was a liar, cheat, cheat _er_ , and grifter.

Even so, Selina had felt like screaming at Kent herself a few times. She never had, not even when she thought she hated him.

She had another drink. Then a couple more. Fuck it. She was probably the most stressed woman on the fucking planet. She deserved it.

She needed a walk. Get some air. Get a break from these same fucking four walls that she’d been trapped in. She hated campaigning. Every city looked the same. Every hotel looked the same. Every rally looked the same.

She nearly fell in the corridor. Stumbled against a door. A secret service guy grabbed her and then nearly flung her away. Fucking snowflake. Did he think she was going to scream rape or something?

The door opened. She saw a glimpse of a white robe.

‘Is something wrong?’

‘The president is… unwell.’

Kent’s voice. Some secret service guy’s voice. They both sounded worried. Unsure. Yeah, you better worry.

‘Perhaps you better bring her in here.’

Selina rolled her eyes. Fucking jarheads. They were like puppies: make a big noise, jump around, but all you had to do was talk in an authoritative voice and they’d eat out of your hand.

Kent was wearing a towelling robe. Someone sat Selina in his guest chair. She smelled coffee and food. Hey! Who said he was allowed room service? God, no wonder that campaigning was so expensive when staffers were ordering –

‘Is that salmon?’ she asked.

Kent turned to look as if he had no idea what she was talking about. ‘Oh, yes. Are you hungry?’

Her stomach growled. ‘I’m not allowed all that stuff.’

‘Salmon, potatoes, and vegetables?’ he asked.

She shook her head. ‘Calories.’

Kent tilted his head. ‘I’m sure a mouthful won’t negatively impact your weight.’

Selina rubbed her stomach. ‘Promise you won’t tell Gary?’

He smiled. ‘Hand on heart.’ He brought the tray over and sat next to her.

‘Hairy.’

He looked at her blankly. ‘The food?’

She shook her head as she grabbed a fork and speared some food. ‘You.’ She gestured at his chest. ‘Hairy.’

He looked down as if this was somehow news to him. ‘Oh, I suppose so.’

‘Men,’ she grumbled. ‘You can just sprout hair from any damn place. Face. Chest. Anywhere. Nobody cares. You don’t have to wax or shave or pluck.’

He clasped his on his knee. ‘I pluck.’

‘Bullshit,’ she said through a mouthful of food. ‘Where do you pluck?’

‘My nose and my ears,’ he admitted.

She swallowed. ‘That’s just… nasty.’

He shrugged. ‘Aging is a natural part of the human condition. I’m quite comfortable with it however some aspects are not socially acceptable.’

She leaned back. ‘Oh, it’s not just a guy thing?’

He shook his head. ‘I’m afraid it’s all of a piece. A little recession, a lot more grey, and a sudden appearance in hitherto hairless places.’

Selina swung around to sit back against the headboard. ‘Didn’t it scare you?’

Kent was thoughtful. ‘It was a little earlier than I expected,’ he admitted. ‘But not radically so. Do you mean the continual physical reminder of my own inevitable death?’

She blinked. ‘I meant getting old and all that shit but… yeah. Aren’t you scared of dying?’

‘I don’t give it a great deal of thought,’ he admitted. ‘I don’t believe that it’s imminent. I’ve been very fortunate in not having come close to it. I’m more fearful of becoming incapable physically and mentally.’

Selina shivered. ‘Yeah. That’s the shit that keeps me up at night.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Not the many and varied woes of the nation?’

‘No, Jesus. It’s not like I can do anything about _those_. I’m not Oprah.’

He chuckled. ‘A fair point.’

Selina put the empty plate aside. ‘I heard Ben yelling at you.’

‘I should imagine everyone heard that.’

She pushed her hair away from her eye. ‘You never complain about him. He complains about you all the time.’

‘It’s his nature to complain,’ Kent said. ‘It’s not mine. It would achieve nothing besides making me look weak.’

‘I might do something about it,’ she suggested.

He shook his head. ‘You already know that he’s a bully. You’ve never acted on that knowledge. Complaining to you would reduce my stock with you not his.’

Selina slapped his arm. ‘Hey!’

‘It’s true, isn’t it?’

‘It makes me sound like a jackass. Worse it makes me sound like one of those assholes who fired people who’ve been bullied or harassed for “rocking the boat” or whatever.’

She knew. He didn’t have to say it. He looked at her and she fucking _knew_ that _he_ knew that yeah, she’d done exactly that. The troublemaker was the one making trouble for _her_ not the one making trouble for whiners who needed to grow thicker skins.

She looked away. ‘I keep telling him one of these days you’re gonna tell him to fuck off.’

‘I imagine that he’s hopeful that will be the case,’ Kent said dryly. ‘Alas I have something of a stubborn streak.’

She smiled. ‘Oh yeah? I never figured you for that.’

‘You’re learning all manner of shocking things about me tonight,’ he said, waggling his eyebrows.

She sniggered. ‘There’s a horrible thought.’

‘Are you feeling a little more… able to walk without falling over?’

She smacked his arm. ‘I tripped!’ 

***

Ben kept glancing at the door. Gary jumped at every noise. Selina rolled her eyes. Damn pussies. They needed to get a damn grip.

From the corner of her eye she saw movement. She straightened up and watched the two detectives walk away. Jesus. They were always so badly dressed. Selina had seen a cop show or two in her time. They should be _passably_ dressed. These two looked like they slept in their clothes and used them for napkins.

‘Are they taking Kent with ‘em?’ Ben asked.

‘What? No. Why would Kent be with them?’ Selina asked.

She knew why. To suddenly turn up without warning after so long without any information… She’d been ready to have Ben call Kent a lawyer.

‘Do you think he’s okay?’ Ben asked awkwardly.

Selina cocked her head. ‘Isn’t this your dream, Kent being carted off to prison?’

Ben toyed with his giant mug. ‘I met her a couple times.’

‘The girlfriend?’

‘Julie,’ Gary murmured.

Selina scowled at him. ‘I knew that.’

‘She was kinda salty,’ Ben said. ‘Gave Jonah some shit and Roger Furlong too.’

Selina stood up. ‘What is with Kent and these women who don’t take any crap?’

‘Are you gonna…’ Ben vaguely gestured with the mug.

She shrugged. ‘Do you wanna? Someone should and I don’t think Gary’s the guy.’

Ben shuffled uneasily. ‘I will if you think I should. I mean if that’s what you think –’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘For fuck’s sake. You’d be positively giddy to sack the guy but the possibility of him being upset or something about his girlfriend’s death and suddenly you can’t cope.’

‘It’s the wrong kind of upset,’ Ben said.

Selina ignored him as she yanked open the door. She’d just walk in, check if Kent was about to be arrested, and then make Ben and Gary do whatever needed to be done. Get him a lawyer or time off or a therapist. Whatever. That’s what you did with problems. You found solutions and you moved the fuck on. You didn’t sit around being afraid of how the person having the problem felt about it.

Right.

She tapped her foot as she stared at the door to Kent’s room. Shit.

Right.

She knocked lightly and then opened the door without waiting for an answer.

‘Hey, just checking you’re not swinging from the light fitting,’ she said.

She knew he was upset by the slump of his shoulders. She knew was okay by the way he looked up at the light fitting and shook his head.

‘I can’t see how that would work.’

He was sat on the bed, back ramrod straight. Selina’s hands clenched as she walked around and stood in front of him.

‘What did the world’s dumbest detectives want?’

Kent looked at her blankly. He seemed completely confused for a moment. ‘The…? Oh. There’s been an arrest.’ He straightened up. ‘A man was arrested in Wyoming for a similar killing. When his DNA was tested it matched the samples from Julie’s car. He’s made a full confession.’

Selina sat down next to him. ‘I thought you’d be happy the bastard has been caught. Relieved that assholes are gonna stop whispering that you did it.’

‘That’s never going to stop,’ he said. ‘A conspiracy theory doesn’t die in the light of truth, it just mutates.’

She flinched. ‘That sucks.’

He clasped his hands together. ‘I am relieved. However, in some indefinable way, the guilty party being caught makes it much for real. It was possible before to delude myself. The results of the autopsy had not been clear cut. Things might have looked worse due to the time she was in the water. It was possible to believe, to hope, that it had been quick and relatively painless.’

Selina put her hand over his. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

Kent gave her a surprised look. ‘You don’t have to say anything.’

She squeezed his hand. ‘They got the death penalty in Wyoming, right?’

‘I believe so,’ he said. He shook his head. ‘I apologise for the disruption. However now that the situation has been resolved I am sure that no more disruptions will be forthcoming.’

He looked tired, sad, and just… _done_. Like a harsh word would be enough to send him hiding under the covers never to return.

‘I know,’ Selina said. She kissed his cheek. She didn’t know why she did it. She didn’t have any answer to the question in his eyes. ‘So… Make sure it doesn’t happen again, okay?’ she stuttered, standing up.

‘I’ll do my best,’ he said mildly. ‘Thank you.’

She waved her hand. ‘Someone had to come in here to find out what was going on and Ben was too much of a fucking coward. I think he was afraid you might cry or some shit.’

‘No. Thank you for allowing me to continue working for the campaign while all this was ongoing,’ he said. ‘I’m aware that it has been a distraction and I’m sure that Ben has been pushing for you to fire me.’

Selina shrugged. ‘Not as much as you’d imagine. I think most of the time he’s just going through the motions.’ She took a step back. ‘I knew that the truth would come out. We just had to do that bunker thing you’re always advising.’

He smiled slightly. ‘Thank you all the same.’

‘Sure,’ she said, grabbing for the door handle. ‘Don’t pout too long. We’ve got shit to do.’

‘Yes, Ma’am.’

She stomped back, cursing herself for whatever fucking temporary insanity she had going on in her head. Held his hands? Kissed his cheek? Shit! She couldn’t have him thinking that she was getting mushy on him. Christ knew what effect that would have. It’s not like he was Ben or Dan. Those dicks could screw around and knew it meant fuck all. But she knew damn well that Kent couldn’t. Look at the damn mess with Sue Wilson!

***

She cried in the car. She had a schedule. She had a goal. She didn’t have time or energy to worry about an old man having yet another heart attack.

She cried in the car. Gary flapped and panicked and was no use at all.

At the hospital, Kent was in a waiting room. He was talking to a small Asian woman. Two small children were clinging to the woman like tugboats around a liner. She was shaking. Her voice was rising and falling in pitch and volume, as if she was too distressed even to control that. When the doctor took her away, she didn’t even seem to register Selina or the secret service agents.

‘Ben’s wife, Joyce, and their children, Kim and Lee,’ Gary murmured.

‘Go away.’

Kent turned to face her as Gary scuttled away. His eyes were ringed with red. His hands were shaking.

‘Hey,’ Selina said.

He nodded.

Selina moved closer. ‘I heard you gave Ben CPR.’

Kent’s lips twitched but he didn’t manage a smile. ‘He may never forgive me.’

She licked her lips. ‘I never learned how to do that.’

‘It’s quite simple in theory.’

‘Not when you do it?’

He shrugged. ‘They keep changing the advice: how many rescue breaths to how many compressions. Speed. That kind of thing.’

‘Huh.’ She pushed back her hair. ‘Worked though.’

He pressed his palms to his eyes. ‘Perhaps.’

Selina pulled down his hands. ‘Hey, he’s in hospital. He’s gonna be okay. If you hadn’t been there, he’d have probably died on the damn floor.’

She thought for a second that he was going to faint. He went grey and looked away.

‘Sit down,’ she said. ‘Stay there.’

‘I’m fine. Please don’t…’

She trotted over to the door and pulled it open. ‘Tell Gary to get Mr Davison a sandwich or something and a coffee,’ she ordered. ‘Right now.’

When she turned back, Kent had his head in his hands.

‘Never saw someone have a heart attack before?’ She sat next to him.

‘No.’

‘I saw my dad,’ Selina said. She felt him look at her, rather than saw it. ‘He died right there. Fucking terrible.’

Kent put his hand over hers. She couldn’t remember him ever choosing to touch her before. His hand was not especially large for a man, but it enveloped hers.

She looked at him. ‘How’d your dad… you know.’

Kent tilted his head. ‘How did he die? Complications arising from AIDS.’

Her eyebrows raised. ‘Your dad was gay?’

He shook his head. ‘Not to my knowledge. However, he was given tainted blood during an operation. It was more common than most people realise.’

Selina sighed. ‘Jesus. Were you… Did you see him before?’

‘Oh yes, I had time to return home and say goodbye,’ he said with a sour note in his voice. ‘He didn’t die quickly.’

Selina leaned slightly against him. ‘You’ve still got your mom?’

‘I’m aware that I’m extremely lucky,’ he said.

She could hear the genuine affection in his voice.

‘I had a heart attack,’ she said quietly. ‘We kept it quiet.’

She felt him nod. ‘You should be more surprised,’ she grumbled. ‘I’m too fucking young for that shit.’

‘Not really,’ he said. ‘Plus, you have a family history of heart trouble, take little exercise, and have taken years off your life by attaining the presidency.’

She elbowed him in the ribs. ‘You’re supposed to be comforting me!’

‘Am I?’ he asked, looking at her. ‘I can’t imagine why you of all people would ask that of me.’

Selina bit her lip. ‘Why me of all people?’

He was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, it seemed that he was choosing his words carefully. ‘You have on a number of occasions described me as robotic or emotionless.’

‘Not in _years_ ,’ she protested.

Kent blew out his cheeks. ‘You ask me for data and facts. You look to Ben for emotional reassurance. The truth is that is only of late that you have…’

She leaned a little closer. ‘I’ve what?’

He pursed his lips. ‘That you’ve seemed a little easier with me. Historically you have always been extremely tense and uncomfortable in my presence. That discomfort often manifested as a certain sort of… aggression.’

Selina tried to laugh but it felt half strangled. ‘I suppose that you’re used to women being comfortable around you?’

He shrugged. ‘I have female friends.’

‘Weird. Who has friends of the opposite sex?’

‘Many people,’ he said dryly.

There was a tap on the door. ‘Ma’am,’ Gary called. ‘I have the food.’

‘You didn’t have to do that,’ Kent said.

Selina marched to the door. ‘I’ve already got one of you idiots in the ICU. I don’t need the other one passing out on me.’

She heard him chuckle. She looked back at him over her shoulder.

‘Is something wrong?’ he asked.

‘I don’t think I’ve heard you laugh before. It was nice.’ She felt like an idiot the second she said. So, she yanked open the door and scowled at Gary.

‘I’ve arranged for some flowers for Ben’s wife,’ Gary murmured.

‘He’s not _dead_ ,’ she snapped. ‘He’s not, is he?’

‘She’d likely prefer a fruit basket or similar,’ Kent suggested. ‘Joyce is quite a practical woman.’

Selina wagged her finger. ‘What he said.’

***

She could still hear people cheering and yelling. Running feet and loud music. If she went looking, she knew that she’d find people fucking in closets and taking drugs in the bathrooms.

She didn’t go looking. She didn’t give a shit frankly and besides she had other things on her mind.

Kent’s door was ajar. Through the gap she could see his suitcase on the bed. Selina pushed open the door.

‘What the fuck are you doing?’ she asked.

‘Dancing a tango,’ he said tartly. ‘What does it look like?’

She crossed her arms. ‘Don’t be a dick.’

Kent shrugged as he looked at her. ‘I’m packing. I’m unsure what more needs to be said.’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘Haven’t you been fucking melodramatic enough for today?’

‘Apparently not,’ he said, opening a drawer.

‘Stop it!’ she shouted. ‘Jesus! You made your big fucking scene already. Nobody is gonna hold it against you or hold you to it. Okay? Just come down to the party already.’

She knew from the expression on his face. She knew but she wasn’t interested in hearing it. She didn’t _want_ to hear it.

Kent put his hand on his hip. ‘I have resigned.’

‘I don’t accept,’ she said. ‘Look, nobody else knows. You’re not gonna lose face.’

He shook his head. ‘I cannot work in any administration in which _Jonah Ryan_ is the vice president.’

Selina moved closer. ‘Come on, it’s Jonah. He’s never gonna be the president.’

Kent shuddered. ‘I’ve made my decision,’ he said quietly.

Selina sat down on the bed and vaguely looked at the clothes in his suitcase. ‘You’ve got jeans in here. Why do you have jeans in here? You don’t wear jeans.’

‘I wear jeans. You’ve _seen_ me wearing them.’ He sat down beside her. ‘Did you somehow imagine I only wear suits?’

She crossed her legs. ‘And a robe that one time. God, that was so weird.’

‘It’s weird that I would wear a robe in my own hotel room?’

‘So, fucking weird.’ She looked at him. ‘You’re really going?’

He nodded. ‘I’m going to take a little time to decide what I’m doing next.’

Selina licked her lips. ‘You’re leaving politics? Really?’

‘Sure.’ He shrugged. ‘It has lost its lustre.’

‘I tried doing other shit.’ She looked at him. ‘It was so fucking tedious.’

He laughed. ‘I have worked in other industries before.’

‘You gonna be okay?’ She crossed her legs. ‘Money and all that? The economy is…’

‘I’ll be fine. I have savings and investments. Perhaps I’ll write a book.’

She pulled a face. ‘Oh, Jesus, you don’t think the public hasn’t heard from enough people in my administration already? Tom’s book got remaindered and you didn’t even bang anyone famous.’

His mouth twitched slightly. ‘Not as far as you know.’

‘Well, I know you didn’t fuck me!’ she laughed. It sounded a little forced, even to her, and trailed off. ‘Mike thought we did.’

Kent raised his eyebrows. ‘He thought we slept together?’

Selina pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. ‘Can you imagine? Ben would’ve had a stroke.’

He leaned closer and lowered his voice. ‘Well, we wouldn’t have told him.’

There was a hint of playfulness in his voice that she’d never heard from him before. It warmed and softened his voice.

She turned towards him. ‘How come we never slept together?’

He was thoughtful. ‘You hated me.’

Selina took a breath, ready to deny it, and then shrugged. ‘I guess. I’ve slept with plenty of men I hated.’

‘That sounds healthy,’ he said dryly.

She crossed her legs and noticed that he noticed. ‘You never had hate sex?’

‘No.’ He turned to face her. ‘Sex is always affectionate for me.’

Selina found herself looking at his mouth. ‘That’s gotta shut down a lot of your options.’

He smiled slightly. ‘I’m a very affectionate person.’

His tie was already loose. She tugged it free.

‘I think I’m gonna need a demonstration,’ she said.

‘Hmm. I think that can be arranged.’

***

Light crept around the edges of the drapes lending shade to the darkness. Kent was a deeper pool of shadow. He was facing her, curled on his side in a foetal position. Selina touched his shoulder and he moved closer, a natural, instinctive movement. His shoulder, his body, was muscular without being sculpted. A kind of comfortable masculinity that made no excuses and asked for no explanations. The body of a man who gave head in the bed and dick over the desk. That he would make sure she came first wasn’t that surprising. That he’d been ready to go again so soon after was.

Selina closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep.

***

He made her a cup of coffee in the morning and continued getting ready to leave as she drank it.

Selina cupped her hands around the cup and watched him move around the room. She had always thought him robotic and stiff but now she saw the grace in his economy of movement. He changed into shorts to perform a yoga flow. Selina watched the muscles and tendons flex as he stretched and twisted through a series of poses. There was something strangely relaxing about it, about the calmness in his expression and stance. As she finished her coffee, Kent went to shower. He returned with damp hair slicked back as she was preparing for her walk of shame.

‘You can shower here,’ he offered.

‘Still have to put my clothes on from last night,’ she said.

He nodded and began dressing.

‘It’s not too late to change your mind,’ she said hopelessly.

Kent smiled. ‘If it wasn’t before it certainly is now.’

Selina folded her arms. ‘We could… I mean… We could work something out.’

He kissed her softly. ‘No, we couldn’t.’ 

She nodded. ‘It’d be a disaster.’

‘It would.’

She sniffed. ‘I’d end up firing you.’

He laughed. ‘Yes, probably quite quickly.’

‘Okay.’ She walked to the door. ‘I’ll see you around.’

Kent shook his head. ‘No, you won’t. Goodbye, Selina.’

She took a breath and forced herself to leave.

The End. 


End file.
